bjoeaull

I would think like any fragrance it will fade over time

A couple more things.  Try to keep the clay fresh by remolding it randomly, especially if you hit some areas that seemed to be rough.  My vehicles the back area and the bottom sides and front always seem the worst so I try to save them for last.  It may be overkill but seems to pick up bigger chunks off those rockers.  Clay doesn't generally need a lot of pressure so monitor that closely so your making progress while not rubbing contaminants back into paint.  Good luck!  A freshly clayed vehicle feels really satisfying.  

sadly when I was younger I don't even remember cleaning my tires....just slap on a new coat of tire shine and away I went! lol

Was wondering before i do a vehicle (already did the wheels) but when choosing a soap from here on out after the coating, is the consensus regular car shampoo I would guess,  and not the wash and wax?  

So basically after a wash, really the only item I would want to put on it is boost?  Would detail spray be ok for drying when I'm not going to boost.  I look forward to putting it on, although my wifes vehicle and mine are big, so Its gonna take some time to get them ready.  

I've never had good luck with my wheel brush either, I always use a retired wash mit on my rims.  

I bought the rupes mini and while i was doing a set of gloss black rims, it did a great job.  But on another set of rims I have I really could use a nano.  Maybe one day...

Honestly hand polishing might actually get you a pretty good turn out on those.  Its not like they have to be perfect, just shined up a bit.

I too just ordered some scuba gloves off eBay for washing when its like 35-50 degrees out.  It helps a lot as my hands were always my weakest link while washing in cold.  Now as long as its not too windy, its tolerable.  I haven't been able to get myself to try the rinse less wash yet.  When i want to wash mine in the winter, the truck is so nasty it just seems ridiculous to try rinse less.  But like I said, never tried, I may be missing out! lol

Leather Conditioner left too much shine/sheen on the dash for me, so I stick with TID there.  I use Leather Conditioner everywhere else, however, since I love the smell.  

I am with you on the shine, but lately I've found that once its somewhat dry to the touch, you can go back with a clean dry towel and buff it down to a nice satin sheen.  Which seems to look best on these newer interiors.  If you haven't give that a shot.  It also helps to get all panels to match better because it seems the different materials soak the conditioner up differently.  

Maybe its off your topic a bit, but what I would worry about is the excessive amount of times your touching your paint.  Seems it would eventually create swirls, the more you touch it the more swirling, its inevitable.  

you can totally just put a sealant or wax on it.  We just got a new yukon xl denali that I haven't had a chance to clean personally yet until today.  Since its cold here atleast wanted to to clean it and seal it somehow.  So I did a strip wash and then sealed it with guard and gloss for now.  Since I had time constraints and not ideal weather.   But I was chomping at the bit to do something to it.  I do hope soon to clay, polish and ceramic coat it as time and weather allows.  

So was this ever cleared up, is ordering that backing plate from amazon the choice to go with?

I'm with Jim, this pad situation is starting to hurt my head a bit.  I would love to see a bundle of 4" as I noticed they were spread all over the store page.   I originally thought the blue color was confusing too.  I'm also needing to figure out what my flex will use, if I order new pads, which ones, and do I need adapters for it.  Its been a while since I've polished anything so my pads seem dated, not even sure which gen I have.  I just haven't dug into the checking on it yet.  In another thread I brought up an idea of selling my flex and PC, and getting the SK and the mini just to simplify the situation.  But not sure I will go through with that

So I tried the weather tech protectant on my new mats, it didn't change the sheen of my brand new mats.  It also was not slick.  I don't have any used mats any more to try it on now to see how it may restore their look.  But I hope it does protect them to some extent since our older mats in the vehicles we just got rid of were looking pretty rough.  

Look forward to more pics!  looking good

Dang, great job, those looked pretty serious!

yeah i totally plan to get the mini, just brainstorming if it'd be better to sell pc and flex and just streamline my polishers to the two swirl killers.  I don't think I'd need both swirl killers, a pc, and the flex, just don't polish enough for that.  I'd imagine I'll probably never use the PC again.  Guess my main point is should I ditch the flex and get the SK along with the mini.  Or keep the flex and not get the big SK?

So i have a PC and a Flex polisher currently.  I was looking to add the Mini SK to my arsenal, then I saw the Regular and Mini combo polisher pack.  Keeping in mind the direction Adams seems to be moving with polishers.  Would it be a good idea to sell my pc and flex, and buy the two Swirl killers?  I guess I'm also wondering how much better (if it is) is the flex over the swirl killer?  Just thinking stream lining the products might be simpler down the road.  Also, I don't do a ton of correcting just randomly.

couple times a year I give my tractor a good cleaning, sometimes I'll use wash and wax, sometimes I'll use guard and gloss.  I basically treat it like any other vehicle.  Nothing serious, but it gets a little attention sometimes.  APC and interior detailer on the inside.  

Ah well sounds like I better not try, I'm sure its tedious, was just hoping some people had tried this and had some luck with it.  Thanks for all the info guys

Yeah, it seems a touch intimidating honestly, but there is something about it that makes me want to try!  I wish the kits weren't so expensive, screwing one up would be pretty costly just in materials.  Im still undecided, just curious at this point.  The idea of testing the smaller areas is a good idea!

Would the coating hold up since the mats are pliable?

Good point, but they really don't flex much, especially once put in the car

Hmmm... I'll go check out their website and see.  I'm sure it would be somewhat challenging, but man the videos make it look doable.  I'd really hate to screw it up though, those kits are not cheap.  I guess its the two vehicles that I have to do that really makes me want to try.  Hell if I got good at it, I could possibly do it on the side, like I mentioned nobody else around me does that I know of.  

More recently, I have used Tire and Rubber Cleaner instead of APC. They come out looking NICE.

 

Side thought. Wonder how Ceramic Trim Coating would work on Weathertechs....

My guess is it would look good, but pricey

I have never had clear bra installed on my vehicles but my wife and I both just got new vehicles and both are black with black painted bumpers and front ends.  Now we have both had that combo in the past which is why I think the bras would be nice.  My question is, having two vehicles to do, its pretty pricey, plus nobody really local that does it.  I am wondering how tough it is to do your self with no experience with one of the quality precut kits sold online.  I must say watching the youtube vids makes it look somewhat easy if your a detail oriented person.  Have any of you attempted this yourselves?  

I always used APC, but as mine have aged, 5-7 years old, they have really dulled.  So being picky about the looks I hit them with VRT, but yes its sorta slick for a few days but wears off soon.  We actually just upgraded mine and my wife vehicles and ordered new weathertechs for both rides.  I saw they offered a product to put on the mats, so I ordered it to try, mostly because it said it wasn't slick.  Thinking since our mats are new it may be a while before they start to look faded to really tell how nice the product works, but I'm hoping it protects them some from getting faded over time too.  Side note, I have tried in and out on the old ones, but seemed like a waste of product, but it did work nicely in the grooves.